Hinduism · branch
Dvaita Vedanta
God, souls and matter are permanently distinct — an unusually sharp dualism inside Vedanta, and the closest Hindu school to a classical theistic picture. Liberation depends on divine grace, not on realising an identity that was there all along.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- C2 Shape of timecyclical returnFurther toward "cyclical return" than most traditions in the matrix.
- D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodleaning given as graceFurther toward "given as grace" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E2 Origin of the cosmosbeginningless or naturalFurther toward "beginningless or natural" than most traditions in the matrix.
- B2 Reading of sacred textleaning literal and bindingFurther toward "literal and binding" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 1.00 | 0.02 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | a personal being one can addressMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.92 | 0.06 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | leaning strictly oneMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.28 | 0.13 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | leaning wholly beyond the worldMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.35 | 0.13 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | leaning revealed and fixedMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.18 | 0.11 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | leaning literal and bindingMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.18 | 0.11 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | clergy and tradition decideMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.12 | 0.10 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.95 | 0.05 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | cyclical returnMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.90 | 0.07 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | between fallen and in need of rescue and ignorant but fundamentally soundMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.55 | 0.15 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | leaning given as graceMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.20 | 0.13 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | essential and prescribedMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.12 | 0.10 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | leaning to be disciplinedMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.30 | 0.14 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | leaning one true pathMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.30 | 0.14 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | beginningless or naturalMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.85 | 0.09 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | leaning a people, inheritedMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.30 | 0.16 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | between creation, given for use and animate and itself sacredMadhva’s Anuvyakhyana and Dvaita commentarial tradition | 0.50 | 0.14 |
Further reading
- Madhva, Vishnu-tattva-vinirnaya — The fivefold difference; the basis for A4 and C1.
- Sharma, A History of the Dvaita School of Vedanta — Standard scholarly survey.
Compared with
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.